Network scanner and method of providing uniform resource locator

ABSTRACT

A network scanner and a method of providing a URL corresponding to an image of document, when a user scans a document in a network scanner that includes an IP address. The method includes scanning a document in the network scanner that includes the IP address, generating the image of the document, storing the image of the scanned document, generating a URL to connect to the stored image, and providing the generated URL.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation Application of prior application Ser.No. 11/126,324, filed on May 11, 2005 in the United States Patent andTrademark Office, which claims the priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 ofKorean Patent Application No. 10-2004-0058344, filed on Jul. 26, 2004,in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present general inventive concept relates to a network scanner, andmore particularly, to a network scanner and a method of providing auniform resource locator (URL) corresponding to an image of a document,when a user scans the document on a network scanner that includes aninternet protocol (IP) address.

2. Description of the Related Art

A user can generate an image by scanning and then post the image on theworld wide web (WWW). FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating aconventional method of posting an image on the WWW.

Referring to FIG. 1, a user scans a document (S100). A scanned image ofthe document is stored, such as in a computer (S102). Afterward, theuser connects the computer to a web account (S104). The user uploads theimage stored in the computer to the WWW (S106). At this time, a URLcorresponding to the image is obtained (S108), and the user posts theimage according to the obtained URL (S110). As described above, theconventional method of posting an image on the web is complicated.Therefore, a method of easily posting a scanned image on the web isneeded.

A system for managing a multi-page file that receives a URL in a networkscanner is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication2001-290695.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present general inventive concept provides a method of providing aURL corresponding to an image of a document when a user scans thedocument on a network scanner that includes an IP address.

The present general inventive concept also provides a network scannerthat includes an IP address and provides a URL corresponding to an imageof a document when a user scans the document on the network scanner.

Additional aspects and advantages of the present general inventiveconcept will be set forth in part in the description which follows and,in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned bypractice of the general inventive concept.

The foregoing and/or other aspects and advantages of the present generalinventive concept may be achieved by providing a method of providing aURL, the method comprising scanning a document in a network scanner thatincludes an IP address, generating an image of the scanned document,storing the image of the scanned document, generating a URL that canconnect to the stored image, and providing the generated URL.

The foregoing and/or other aspects and advantages of the present generalinventive concept may also be achieved by providing a network scannerthat includes an IP address, the network scanner comprising a scan unitto generate an image of a document by scanning the document, a storageunit to store the image of the scanned document, a URL generation unitto generate a URL to connect to the stored image, and a URL provisionunit to provide the generated URL to a computer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and advantages of the present generalinventive concept will become apparent and more readily appreciated fromthe following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram illustrating a conventional method of postingan image on the web;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a network scanner and a computeraccording to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept; and

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of providing a URLaccording to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the presentgeneral inventive concept, examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to the likeelements throughout. The embodiments are described below in order toexplain the present general inventive concept while referring to thefigures.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a network scanner 10 and acomputer 100 according to an embodiment of the present general inventiveconcept.

Referring to FIG. 2, the network scanner 10 comprises a scan unit 12, astorage unit 14, a URL generation unit 16, a URL provision unit 18, aquestion unit 20, a management unit 22, a display unit 24, and ahypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) server 26. The computer 100 isconnected to the network scanner 10 and includes a user interface unit110 connected to a network or the Internet.

The network scanner 10 includes an IP address, and a user of thecomputer 100 can connect to the network scanner 10 through the userinterface unit 110 using the IP address. Also, the network scanner 10can support HTTP.

The scan unit 12 scans a document and generates an image of thedocument. The image is transformed to a (JPEG) file or a (BMP) fileusing a scan driver in the network scanner 10.

The storage unit 14 stores the image of the scanned document. Thestorage unit 14 can store the image according to a user who scanned thedocument. For example, a folder can exist for each user to store thatuser's images.

The URL generation unit 16 generates a URL to connect to the storedimage. More specifically, the URL generation unit 16 generates a filename corresponding to the stored image, and generates a URL using thegenerated file name and the IP address of the network scanner 10.

The URL provision unit 18 provides the generated URL to the userinterface unit 110 of the computer 100, which is connected to thenetwork scanner 10.

The question unit 20 asks the user of the network scanner 10 whether theuser wants the network scanner 10 to provide the URL. When the userwants the URL, the network scanner 10 generates and provides the URL.Once the user has acquired the URL from the network scanner 10, the usercan use the URL to retrieve the corresponding image on the Internet.

The management unit 22 manages the storage unit 14. The storage unit 14can be located in the network scanner 10, as illustrated in FIG. 2.Alternatively, the storage unit 14 can also be located externally withrespect to the network scanner 10. The capacity of the storage unit 14located in the network scanner 10 may be limited. Therefore, themanagement unit 22 can manage the storage unit 14 such that the imagestored in the storage unit 14 is erased after a predetermined time.Also, the management unit 22 can manage the storage unit 14 not to storean image greater than a predetermined size therein.

The display unit 24 displays images stored in the storage unit 14 to theuser of the computer 100 connected to the network scanner 10. Thedisplay unit 24 can display the images in a thumbnail form, and when theuser selects a thumbnail of a particular image, the full particularimage is displayed. The display unit 24 can classify images according tothe user who created the images, and can display all of the storedimages or only the images created by a particular user.

The HTTP server 26 follows HTTP protocol and can generate a hypertextmarkup language (HTML) document. The HTTP server 26 can show the storedimage in a thumbnail form by including the image in the generated HTMLdocument.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of providing a URLaccording to an embodiment of the present general inventive concept.

Referring to FIG. 3, a network scanner that includes an IP address asksa user of the network scanner whether the user wants to be provided witha URL (S10). When the user does not want to be provided with the URL,the network scanner performs an ordinary scanning operation (S20).

At operation S10, if the user wants to be provided with the URL, thenetwork scanner scans the document and generates an image of thedocument (S12). Then, the image of the scanned document is stored (S14).The image of the scanned document can be stored in a storage unit in thenetwork scanner. Also, the stored image can be classified according tothe user.

Next, a URL to connect to the stored image is generated (S16). Morespecifically, a file name corresponding to the stored image is generatedand a URL is generated using the generated file name and the IP addressof the network scanner.

The URL is then provided to a computer of the user, which is connectedto the network scanner (S18).

The user who acquired the URL to connect to the stored image canretrieve the image on the Internet using the URL.

The storage unit in the network scanner may have a limited capacity.Therefore, the storage unit can be managed such that images storedtherein are erased after a predetermined time. Also, the storage unitcan be managed not to store images greater than a predetermined size.

The images stored in the storage unit can be displayed to be viewed bythe user of the computer connected to the network scanner. To view thestored images from the network scanner through the Internet, the userconnects to an HTTP server included in the network scanner, using a webbrowser. The HTTP server can display the stored images in thumbnail formby generating an HTML document including the stored images. The user canuse a menu in an initial screen of the HTML document to read the storedimage. For example, the menu may be structured as follows:

1. read all images scanned by the user

2. read all images stored in the network scanner

If option 1 is selected, a simple login process may be required. In bothoptions, the stored images can be initially displayed in thumbnail form,and when the user selects a thumbnail of a particular image, the fullparticular image can be displayed.

As described above, the present general inventive can be applied to anetwork scanner. However, the present general inventive concept can alsobe applied to a network multi-functional device. The multi-functionaldevice can include a scanner, a printer, a copier, and a facsimile.

As described above, according to the present general inventive concept,when scanning using a network scanner, the network scanner can directlystore images in a storage unit in the network scanner and provide a URLcorresponding to the images to a user. The user can then retrieve theimages on the internet using the URL.

According to the present general inventive concept, a URL can be easilyprovided by simply scanning images. More specifically, when scanningimages, an image file is automatically stored in a network scanner and auser can be provided with a URL that includes an IP address of thenetwork scanner and a name of the image file. The user can retrieve theimages on the internet using the URL.

Also, stored images can be easily read by an HTML document provided byan HTTP server of the network scanner.

Although a few embodiments of the present general inventive concept havebeen shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in theart that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing fromthe principles and spirit of the general inventive concept, the scope ofwhich is defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A network scanning apparatus connected to anetwork, the network scanning apparatus comprising: a scan unit to scana document to generate an image of the scanned document when a requestfor providing a uniform resource locator (URL) is received; a storageunit to store the generated image of the scanned document in the networkscanning apparatus; a URL generation unit to generate the URLcorresponding to the stored image of the scanned document; and a URLprovision unit to provide information about the generated URL to acomputing device through the network, the provided information about thegenerated URL comprising a file name corresponding to the stored imagesand an IP address of the network scanning apparatus, wherein thegenerated URL is accessible to the stored image in the network scanningapparatus.
 2. The network scanning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the URLgeneration unit generates the URL to identify the generated image of thescanned document among from a plurality of images stored in the networkscanning apparatus.
 3. The network scanning apparatus of claim 1,wherein the network scanning apparatus includes the IP address.
 4. Thenetwork scanning apparatus of claim 1, further comprising: a questionunit to determine whether a user wants to generate a URL correspondingto the stored file, wherein if the question unit determines that theuser desires to generate the URL, the URL generation unit generates theURL and the URL provision unit provides the information about thegenerated URL.
 5. The network scanning apparatus of claim 1, furthercomprising: a server to generate a hypertext markup language (HTML)document corresponding to the stored images, following a hypertexttransfer protocol (HTTP).
 6. The network scanning apparatus of claim 5,wherein the server provides the stored image as the HTML document. 7.The network scanning apparatus of claim 5, wherein the HTML document isaccessible by a web browser of the computing device, through the server.8. A method for providing a uniform resource locator (URL) at a networkscanning apparatus connected to a network, the method comprising:scanning, at a scan unit, a document to generate an image of the scanneddocument when a request for providing the URL is received; storing thegenerated image of the scanned document in a storage unit of the networkscanning apparatus and generating, at a URL generation unit, the URLcorresponding to the stored image of the scanned document; andproviding, at a URL provision unit, information about the generated URLto a computing device through the network, the provided informationabout the generated URL comprising a file name corresponding to thestored images and an IP address of the network scanning apparatus,wherein the generated URL is accessible to the stored image in thenetwork scanning apparatus.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein thegenerating of the URL comprises generating the URL to identify thegenerated image of the scanned document among from a plurality of imagesstored in the network scanning apparatus.
 10. The method of claim 8,wherein the network scanning apparatus includes the IP address.
 11. Themethod of claim 8, further comprising: determining, at a question unit,whether a user wants to generate a URL corresponding to the stored file,wherein if it is determined that the user desires to generate the URL,the URL is generated and the information about the generated URL isprovided.
 12. The method of claim 8, further comprising: generating, ata server, a hypertext markup language (HTML) document corresponding tothe stored images, following a hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). 13.The method of claim 12, wherein the stored image is provided as the HTMLdocument by the server.
 14. The method of claim 8, wherein the HTMLdocument is accessible by a web browser of the computing device, throughthe server.
 15. A method for providing a uniform resource locator (URL)at a network scanning apparatus connected to a communications network,the method comprising: when a request to provide the URL is received bythe network scanning apparatus, scanning a document with a scanningdevice to generate an image of the scanned document; storing thegenerated image of the scanned document in a storage device of thenetwork scanning apparatus and generating the URL corresponding to thestored image of the scanned document; and providing at least thegenerated URL to a computing device communicatively coupled to thecommunications network so that the stored image is selectable from thestorage unit using the generated URL, the provided information about thegenerated URL comprising a file name corresponding to the stored imagesand an IP address of the network scanning apparatus.
 16. A networkscanning apparatus connected to a network, the network scanningapparatus comprising: a scanning device to scan a document to generatean image of the scanned document when a request to provide the URL isreceived by the network scanning apparatus; a storage device to storethe generated image of the scanned document of the network scanningapparatus; a URL generation device to generating the URL correspondingto the stored image of the scanned document; and a URL provision deviceto provide at least the generated URL to a computing devicecommunicatively coupled to the communications network so that the storedimage is selectable from the storage unit using the generated URL, theprovided information about the generated URL comprising a file namecorresponding to the stored images and an IP address of the networkscanning apparatus.